Doctor Barbie
by Charlie060297
Summary: When Amanda Rollins leaves Christmas shopping until the very last minute, things get hectic. But there's nothing she can't handle with Carisi by her side. One-shot.


"You so owe me, Rollins."

Dominick Carisi rubbed his hands together briskly, desperately trying to regain any sense of feeling in his fingers. His breath came out in little puffs of white air, attesting to the fact that it was freezing outside. He was dressed warmly in a lined, leather coat with a long, striped scarf wrapped around his neck but somehow the icy air still found its way inside his protective layers, making him shift from foot to foot anxiously as they waited for the store to open.

At least he wasn't alone. Amanda stood beside him, as well as eighty other people who were just as miserable as he was and equally cold. Well, maybe not Rollins. Even as he tried to glare at her for dragging him out of his nice, warm apartment at the crack of dawn, he was inwardly happy to see the relaxed set of her shoulders, the sparkle of holiday cheer in her eyes.

Or…perhaps that was a gleam of manic anticipation?

"Alright, you remember the plan, Carisi? Doors open, we make for the toy aisle, grab Doctor Barbie, hit the registers and we're out." She nodded decisively to herself. "It's brilliant. Olivia was completely overreacting when she said this would be hard."

Carisi snorted. "Do you think all of these people would be out here, freezing their butts off in front of a store that isn't even open yet, for a toy that every three-year-old girl wants for Christmas if this was going to be easy? We'll be lucky to make it out in one piece." He glanced over at the crowd surrounding the store, the detective side of him analysing the situation. "This could get very ugly very fast."

"We should probably split up," Amanda continued as if he hadn't just spoken, her gaze religiously focused on the toy store's tightly sealed doors. "Better chance of finding a Doctor Barbie."

Carisi was struggling to keep a straight face. If she said Doctor Barbie one more time…

"Rollins, are you even hearing me? This is not a raid and you're insane if you think I'm taking people out to get a toy."

She finally turned to him, her expression one that he had seen many times before, usually before she cracked a suspect in an interrogation. He managed to not roll his eyes. Really, she was acting like they were preparing for war. Sure, it would be hectic, probably more than she thought, but it didn't require a battle plan.

"Carisi, you do understand that there will a meltdown of epic proportions if I don't get this doll for Jesse. And if I'm going down, you're going down with me."

" _Now_ , I see why you wanted me to come with you."

She smiled slightly. "I trust you with my life, Carisi."

He arched an eyebrow sharply. "How touching, but don't try to butter me up. I'm not attacking some old lady because _you_ put off getting Jesse's gift until the last minute – "

She shrugged. "Then I'll be sending her your way when she's crying her eyes out on Christmas morning. You can explain to her why Santa didn't get her what she wanted."

He narrowed his eyes at her. "That's low, Rollins. Even for you."

Amanda managed a sheepish smile. "I'm a single mother doing her shopping the day before Christmas. I'm above nothing."

He sighed. "Alright, alright, but you really do owe me."

A sudden murmur at the front of the crowd caught Carisi's attention. The employees were taking the locks off the door.

"Here we go," Amanda mumbled.

As soon as the doors clicked open and the employees cleared, every man, woman and child surged into the store, the moving mass of bodies taking both Amanda and Carisi with them. Warm air washed over him, but he had no time to enjoy it. Amanda called his name once and then was off to the toy section, leaving him scrambling to catch up with her. She wasn't the only one headed in that direction. Doctor Barbie must have been a sought-after toy and he was starting to wonder if they would actually walk away with one.

Hurrying down the aisles, Carisi somehow managed to make it to the Barbie display without losing a limb, only to find a mass of people hurrying away with the limited edition doll. He didn't see Rollins, and the dolls were going fast.

"Shit." He readied himself and then started making his way to the display. "'Scuse me. Sorry. Coming through." People pressed in all sides, moving in different directions, and by the time he reached the display there were very few dolls left. Grabbing one of the last, Carisi hugged the toy to his chest and prepared to make his getaway.

"Hey man, give me that!"

An arm came out of nowhere and he found himself toy-less and pushed back against a shelf of Lego Kits. The man who had taken Jesse's gift turned on his heels, clearly intending to escape.

Oh, it was on now.

Scrambling over boxes he had spilled in his fall, Carisi lurched to his feet and stumbled through the fray, trying to keep the suspect in sight. Ahead, Amanda came into view, a frown crossing her face as she caught sight of him.

"Carisi?"

He motioned frantically as the thief was about to run past her. "Stop him, Rollins, he's got Doctor Barbie!"

The detective's eye widened and she broke into a short sprint to grab the guy's coat collar, yanking hard, pulling him backwards and off balance.

"Hey, where are you going in such a rush?" Amanda asked him coolly as Carisi got to her, "You wouldn't be trying to get away with this, would you?" She plucked the doll from the other man's hands and handed it to Carisi.

"Come on! That's mine, bitch!" The guy whine, starting towards Amanda. She stepped out of reach just at Carisi pushed him back.

"I wouldn't touch her if I were you, _bitch_ ," He said lowly. Carisi turned to her, "Are you alright, Detective?"

The guy's eyes widened. "Detective? I didn't know she was a cop – honest!"

Amanda ignored him. "I'm fine, Carisi, but I think we should leave before I decide to press charges. I really don't want to have to write up paperwork on Christmas Eve."

Carisi raised his eyebrows at the guy he was restraining. "Hear that? Looks like today is your lucky day." The would-be thief nodded and took off like a bat out of hell as soon as Carisi released him. He shook his head. "It's a mad, mad world," He said, smiling at her and handing over the doll.

"I can't believe you managed to grab one. I took a wrong turn at the bike rack," She admitted as she stowed the doll away in her pocket, "Jesse will love it."

" _AND_ we don't have to worry about you being in the dog house tomorrow," He added with a little laugh, and then his expression turned serious, "Hey, uh, why don't you and Jesse come over to my family's cabin for dinner – my sister would love to see you again – "She cut him off.

"Christmas is for family, you know that, and besides it just wouldn't feel right," Amanda added as they headed towards the cashier's line, "We'll be okay."

His hand on her arm made her stop and face him.

"You and Jesse are family. You know that," He said and before she could really process his words, he was bustling them off to the registers again, "Listen, you come over to eat, you bring Jesse, she can play with my niece, who'll want to show you her presents and my sister will serve you really bad eggnog and then you can go home if you want. But don't tell me you want to miss all that."

"Well," She faltered, and then sighed and smiled slyly, "I suppose I do deserve some turkey after everything I've done for you."

Carisi just grinned. "You bet."


End file.
